There is a raging confusion within the Hajj secretariat over alleged underhand dealings necessitating the final transportation option for this year’s package for Moslems embarking on the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
DAILY GUIDE sources within the secretariat disclosed that even though the Hajj Committee headed by Alhaji Abdul Rauf Ibrahim Tanko, settled for an all-round package of $3,450 per pilgrim for the 6,780 pilgrims embarking on this year’s pilgrimage, there were much affordable options with better packages presented to the Hajj Committee but have been shunned.
Insiders told DAILY GUIDE that the Hajj Committee has settled on Egyptair, a more expensive option than others which were as low as US$2,900 for a total package that came with proper hotel accommodation, feeding and bus transportation to and from Mecca and other holy sites.
“Cheaper alternatives with an overall cost of US$2,900 per pilgrim have been shunned,” this newspaper’s source disclosed on condition of anonymity.
“When the interim board published the tender for tickets, the same board is alleged to have negotiated with a poor airline operator [Egyptair] for US$600 per pilgrim, but got it inflated to US$1,800 per pilgrim. It is known that Saudi Airlines, a top grade airline has quoted US$1,300 per pilgrim,” the angry source told DAILY GUIDE.
But Alhaji Tanko denied these accusations saying that when the bid was opened for tickets, several companies and individuals flooded the Hajj Committee with all sorts of proposals including phony ones that were “too good to be true”. He cited instances where weird aircrafts like “Boeing 747 Airbus” were proposed to be used to airlift the pilgrims, “I told them that if you have people who are actually genuine, go and let them correct this thing because Airbus is a different kind of aircraft from Boeing,” he said he told the consultants.
“We haven’t settled on Egyptair, we selected three out of the lot that sent their proposals to us…so we haven’t signed any contract with any airline,” he told DAILY GUIDE via telephone.
According to the interim Hajj Chairman, three airlines including Emirates (being represented by B. Baldi Consultancy, the local representative of Alitalia in Ghana), Ethiopian and Egyptair, have been shortlisted to airlift Ghanaian pilgrims to Mecca. During negotiations, Emirates concluded it would charge US$1,750 per pilgrim to Jedda, a distance of more than 70 kilometres.
“If they take us to Jedda, we are going to have problems conveying our people back to Medina, so we are looking for an airline that would take us to Medina and from Medina, we would move to Mecca,” he explained to this newspaper, giving an indication that the Emirate option was out.
Egyptair appeared to be the most likely option for the committee because even though the two remaining airlines agreed to convey Ghanaian pilgrims to Medina-a stone throw from Mecca, Ethiopian Airline was approximately US$600 (or GH¢1,200) more expensive.
This gave credence to complaints by insiders who spoke to DAILY GUIDE that the Hajj Committee had indeed settled on Egyptair.
PREEMPTIVE PRICING
It was unclear how the committee arrived at US$3,450 as the total cost of the entire package to Mecca per pilgrim as widely publicized in various Ghanaian media, when a substantive airline had not been selected.
Apparently, the Hajj Committee based its calculations on cost trends and build-up from last year’s pilgrimage: “The amount was arrived at based on the proposals that they have submitted…If you look at the amount that was taken previously [last year] it was US3,100 and there is a cost build-up in Medina,” Alhaji Tanko told DAILY GUIDE.
“We are talking about accommodation in Medina, we are talking about accommodation in Minna and we are also talking about feeding in Minna for three days; mattresses for our pilgrims in Minna-which used not to be there….All these things are cost inputs of the US$3,450,” he explained.
The interim Hajj Chairman noted that, as part of an arrangement to ensure a hitch free Hajj, all prospective pilgrims would converge at the Hajj Village in Accra from September to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia in batches as per schedule.
Alhaji Tanko added that, the committee has opened both a dollar and cedi accounts with Access Bank to facilitate easy payment, adding “payment can be made by individuals or through accredited Hajj agents and in the name of the pilgrim”.
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